First Sight
by xTamashii
Summary: Esther thinks her school life is boring, until a new student moves in. Who is he? Or...what is he? [Highschool, AU] [IonxEsther]
1. First Meeting

I've wanted to write this for a while…just never got around to it. XD

Trinity Blood, IonxEsther, High School fic, AU.

I don't own Trinity Blood.

Enjoy!

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Chapter One 

_F_i_r_s_t_ M_e_e_t_i_n_g

Life was normal. School was normal, people were normal. Basically, everything was completely _normal. _

That's exactly why Esther tired of this place.

Every single day, everything was the same. The same crackheads and jocks, preps and teacher's pets.

She was oh so very tired of this life. She had never considered suicide, no, she wasn't tired of life in that way.

To be honest, she was bored. She was fairly popular at school, had plenty of friends as well as enemies, and made pretty good grades. She didn't have a horrible life, she just sometimes wished that there was more to it.

With a heavy sigh, Esther pounded on the button of her alarm clock to turn it off, and stood up, walking over to her dresser to examine herself in the mirror.

She wasn't the prettiest girl in school, but she wasn't totally hideous either. With her short, blood red hair, pure blue eyes, and pale skin, she could only be marked as 'average.'

With another sigh, she proceeded out the door of her room and prepared for school.

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The elderly man shuffled the papers at his desk. A young man was slumped in the chair opposite of him, scowling slightly out the window.

"Everything is in order. You are officially a student of our wonderful high school." The man beamed at him.

The young man in the chair only reached out his hand, and the man handed him his papers. "Be sure to show your teachers these!" He reminded brightly.

"Sure."

Ion shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind him. Well, a new school, a new life, yeah, sure. Great. Exciting. He hefted up his bag high over his shoulder and began to walk to his first class.

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Esther wasn't fond of people who beat others up.

Not at all.

She herself had never once been a victim, but it seemed that things were different now.

These girls were vicious and thirsting for blood. As they circled her, she could only clench onto her binder more firmly, and stare at the ground. This wouldn't be good or painless. She might escape, but with plenty of bruises to remind her of the event.

She knew exactly why, too.

The most popular boy in school has spoken with her. He had patted her shoulder. Nothing more, but apparently these girls found this a good reason to beat the crap out of her.

"You should stay away from him." Her voice was sharp, and cracked like a whip.

Esther knew full well who they were talking about, but chose to play dumb anyways.

"Who?" She asked, trying to sound innocent, even though her palms were clammy and her heart was racing. She had to keep it together.

The girl's face reddened with rage.

"Don't play dumb." She hissed, "You know who."

"I'm sorry I honestly don't."

"Then allow me to remind you." The girl advanced on her, glaring at her menacingly. Then, without, warning, one of her sidekicks came up from behind and punched her. Right in the back of the head. Esther dropped her binder, rubbing her head bitterly.

"Dietrich, you remember now, don't you?" She laughed derisively. "I don't know why he even looks your way."

Another girl came up and punched her in the stomach. She could see no way out of this, except to fight back. As much as she didn't want to, there wasn't much of a choice.

One girl aimed another punch, but she managed to deflect this one, causing the girl to punch her in the eye. She winced, clamping her eye shut. This wasn't good…

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Ion strolled outside, glaring at the sunlight. He was glad he didn't burn. That technology of Radu's appeared to be working. So he hoped.

He was just about to enter his first class when he heard the sounds of a fight. Not a friendly one either, and he could faintly smell blood.

Turning around, he dropped his bag down by a nearby tree and took off. If fights had blood, that would be bad for him. Why did it matter, though? Why was he going towards this fight?

The sounds grew louder. He was close now. He turned a corner, and saw a group of girls standing around another girl. The smell of blood came from her. One of the girls in the outer ring laughed, and when she did, the others joined in.

Ion felt bitterness and anger boil in his gut. They had no right to do that to someone. So, without thinking, he stepped out from behind the building, clearing his throat loudly and glaring at them. The battered girl from the center of the ring looked up. Her mouth widened slightly.

His resolve faltered slightly. What now?

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Esther looked up in amazement. An incredibly good-looking young man had shown up. To rescue her? Who knew?

She used this precious time to 'examine' him.

He was slender, but not too skinny, and looked fairly muscular from what she could tell. He had slightly overlong pale-blond hair and the most incredible ruby-red eyes she had even seen.

He was drop-dead sexy.

All of the other girls seemed to realize that at about the same time Esther did. They had been caught red-handed, and in front of a good-looking guy, no less.

"What were you doing to her?" He asked firmly, looking intently at the head of the group. All of her hench-women shuffled away from her slightly.

"I-I was just…talking with her." She calmly flipped her long, blond hair over her shoulder. "Is that wrong."

"No." He paused, but his eyes never left hers. "But that wasn't what you were actually doing."

The girl's jaw dropped, and she stared at him incredulously.

Esther was even more amazed when he extended his hand to her. "Come on. Get up." She grasped his hand firmly, and stood to her feet. She stooped briefly to retrieve her binder from the ground, then began to head to her first class. The new guy followed her.

"So, are you new here?" She asked, honestly curious.

"Yes. How can you tell?"

"I know most of the people here. I can tell."

"Alright."

He hadn't released her hand yet, so people gave them strange looks as they passed by. It made Esther uncomfortable, but she ignored their stares.

"Um, I'm Esther, by the way." She said, smiling at him. "I forgot to ask your name."

"I'm Ion." He said gruffly, picking up his pace.

Esther sped up as well, smiling at him when he turned away.

'I guess lot's of things are going to change around here...' She thought, her smile growing.

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Well, I hope you enjoy! I'm hoping to finish this story fairly quickly. I hope you all will like it! I enjoyed writing this so far.

So, before I get people being all confused, this is a Highschool, AU fic.

Okay, please read and review!


	2. First Thoughts

Well, another chapter today…

Just in case anyone cares, I might be making a songfic on the song Vampire Heart by H.I.M. That song's been stuck in my head FOREVER.

Anyways, on with the chapter!

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Chapter Two

_F_i_r_s_t _T_h_o_u_g_h_t_s_

The first class of the day for Esther was religion with Mr. Nightroad, or as everyone called him, Father Abel.

He was known for being kindhearted and goofy, but could also be strict and firm as well.

Nonetheless, she always enjoyed her Religion class. It was optional, but she had heard from older students that it was fun.

She was completely shocked to find out that Ion had this class first as well. She fidgeted in her seat, and continued glancing back at him, as he sat right behind her now. Occasionally when she did this and he happened to notice, he would smile a little, then return his eyes to his notebook.

The other girls in class were envious. She could tell. It was a little scary, considering this was a religious class and all, and that most people in here had always been nice to her.

Of course, Ion was good looking in his own way, but someone who always caught her eyes was Dietrich.

He was easily the best looking guy in school. He was rather tall too. All of the girls were incredibly obsessed with him, and were happy that he didn't have a girlfriend. So, naturally, this fan club tried to murder anyone who approached him.

She inwardly shuddered. They were frightening.

She had known Dietrich for a very long time, since childhood actually. Not that it mattered. They still beat her up over a pat on the shoulder. She bitterly touched her swollen eye and winced. It would be black by tomorrow.

Her thoughts turned back to Ion. He was a decent person, definitely good-looking, but the rest of him seemed to be shrouded in mystery. It was as if he was trying to hide something from the rest of the world. She sighed and fiddles with the eraser on her pencil.

She wondered if he would be her friend. She certainly hoped so.

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Ion was growing tired of taking notes on Father Abel's lecture, so her stopped taking notes and leaned back in his chair. Esther kept looking back at him, and it made him slightly uneasy. Why? He didn't know.

Finally, the bell rang, cutting the teacher's lecture short as students rushed madly for the door like escaped zoo animals.

Ion lifted up his back again and headed towards the door, followed by Esther.

At first she had annoyed him slightly, but now he was getting used to her. She was a good person.

"Ion, what class do you have next?"

He glanced at his schedule. "Math next, with…"

His sentence was cut short as a handsome dark haired boy approached the two of them.

"Dietrich…" Esther muttered breathlessly. She looked like she was about to faint.

Ion scowled. He already didn't like him.

As he felt the anger clench his stomach, he felt something else…the burning in his sides. Wincing, he wrapped one arm around his torso. Esther didn't notice.

Good.

'Not now…not now…' was all he could think.

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"How are you Esther?" Dietrich asked smoothly. He looked her up and down, causing the redhead to blush.

"I-I-I'm fine, thank you." She said, in that same breathless voice. When Dietrich noticed her eyes, he frowned slightly.

"What happened?" He asked, indicating to her face.

"Oh, this?" She shrugged it off. "Nothing, nothing…"

Dietrich looked like he didn't believe her, but smiled and said, "Very well then. Take care, Esther." He patted her on the head and walked away.

Esther looked back at Ion, only to find him sitting down against a tree, holding his sides.

Horrified, Esther rushed to his side.

"Ion? Are you alright?"

Ion leaned back, breathing heavily. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it."

This girl was still worried. Why? About a beast like him?

"No, really-"

She wouldn't take that for an answer. "Come on!"

She pulled him up by his elbows and began to drag him away.

"Esther…"

"I don't want to hear it."

There was only one way to get her to release him. One way, and one way alone.

…He would have to tell her.

"Esther…if I tell you what's wrong with me…will you leave me alone? And you're free to run away if you want as well."

Ion winced as his sides burned more fiercely, and his throat ached.

Anger always caused this. He should have had a better control over his emotions.

"Why would I run? You're my friend, Ion." She said brightly.

He laughed humorously, then winced. He began to then pull her into a secluded place. He pulled her into an empty classroom.

"Listen carefully." His voice was husky. He swallowed heavily.

"I'm not what you think I am."

"I don't…understand…"

"Esther, I'm not human."

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Heh heh heh…CLIFFHANGER!

Lol, sorry for the short chapter. X3

Don't worry, I'm thinking about putting up another chapter tonight also. So stay tuned!

Read and review!


	3. First Enemies

Lol. XD I typed this quite a while ago, I just didn't put it up.

Sorry peoples!

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Chapter Three

_F_i_r_s_t_ E_n_e_m_i_e_s

"What?" Esther blinked, and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Ion clenched his teeth, gripping his sides harder. Damn. It wasn't fading at all.

"Ion!" Esther looked very worried now, her face was pale. "What's going on?"

"I meant exactly what I said." He hissed through clenched teeth.

"If you're not human…then…then…" She swallowed hard. "What are you?" She asked in a hollow whisper.

Ion stared into her eyes, feeling breathless. Ever so slowly, the burning was fading and being replaced by numbness. That was a good sign. Sort of.

"I'm a vampire." Her eyes widened in shock, horror, fear confusion, and sadness. He could see thousands of emotions reflected in her sapphire-blue eyes.

"You know…" He muttered, despising himself at the moment. "A being, or more precisely, a beast who feeds on the blood of humans. That's all we vampires are. Beasts in human form."

He breathed heavily, knowing he was getting carried away. Unable to look her in the eye, he turned away.

"Ion…is that all?"

He looked up immediately, slightly angry and slightly confused.

"All? Isn't that enough of a reason to run? I could kill you!" He snarled, then, in a calmer tone, he said, "Please, just run. It's safer for you if you do."

She smiled softly, sadly. "That's not what I meant. You're my friend. You're unlike anyone I've ever meant. What I'm trying to say is…" She sighed heavily, looking out the window, before turning back to him. "You're my friend, and I want it to stay that way. No matter what you are, I don't see you as a beast."

"You've only just met me. You don't know how I can be."

"I'm willing to risk it."

He was surprised for a moment, before he smiled slightly, gratefully.

"Come on. Let's go. We'll be late for our next class."

She smiled back. "Right."

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So it turned out, Esther and Ion had their second class together as well.

And much to Ion's disappointment, with Dietrich, too.

Mr. Tres Iqus, or just Mr. Iqus, was a very firm, unyielding, robotic man. He was an excellent teacher, although he tended to lose the interest of his classes sometimes.

Dietrich kept smiling at her, causing her to blush. Ion kept glaring at Dietrich, causing Dietrich to glare back. Ion sometimes looked protectively at her, causing her to turn away. Geez, some guys had problems. In their case, dominance problems.

It was driving her up the wall. She could not concentrate.

So, she raised her hand. Mr. Iqus turned to her. "Yes, Esther."

"I would like to go to the bathroom." She said calmly, ignoring the stares from two certain males.

"Very well. Proceed." And he returned to the lecture.

Esther quickly slipped out the classroom door and to the bathroom.

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Dietrich now looked slightly bored and slightly angry at the same time. Ion was pleased to know he had gotten to him, but was now frustrated at how calm and collect he looked. It made him an unhappy person.

Getting angry wouldn't be worth it, though. Not if he was a danger to everyone else. So, swallowing his pride, he resisted the urge to give Dietrich the finger and concentrated on his notes again.

Esther had gone, though. Why, he wondered…

Was it because of them? Maybe. It didn't matter. All he wanted now was to get out of this horrible class. Math was definitely not one of his favorite subjects, although he usually had straight A's.

He tapped his pencil impatiently on the desk. He wasn't too fond of this school already, but because of what happened at his last school…

He gripped the pencil so tightly it almost cracked in half. No. He had promised himself not to think about that.

Esther returned just a few minutes before the bell rang. And when it did, it was just as insane as the escape from Religion, if only slightly more crazy.

Esther pranced over to him as he was walking out the door. Why did she still follow him around like a little puppy? She should be running away by now, but she hadn't yet. Her words earlier had meant a lot to him. No human would ever say anything like that to him.

Yet, she still followed him.

It wasn't likely she would stop anytime soon, either.

"Ion, what's your next class?"

He glanced at his schedule. "English, with Mrs. Caterina Sforza."

"Well I've got history with the new teacher."

"New teacher?"

"Yeah, he recently took up the empty history teacher space. I hope he's not boring." She sighed. "Well, see you around, Ion!" She smiled as she waved and walked away.

He watched her back, not taking his eyes off of her, even as she disappeared around the corner.

…What was wrong with him…?

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I know, really short chapter. Oh well. I wasn't planning on making chapters extra long anyways.

Hope you enjoyed!

Read and Review!


	4. First Chance

Another chapter. Yay!

Enjoy!

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Chapter Four

_F_ir_s_t _C_h_a_n_c_e

Esther strolled cheerfully to her history class. It was nice to know she had made new friends.

Just as she was walking, she bumped into one of her friends, Kate.

"Hello Esther!" The taller girl cheerfully hugged her.

"Hey Kate." Esther smiled. Something told her that this day was going to end quite well.

"I heard that the new history teachers a real looker."

Esther blinked a few times. "Say what?"

Kate sighed and smacked her forehead. "Oh, come on girl, don't tell me you don't know!"

Esther simply blinked in response.

"The new history teacher. Is. Gorgeous."

"Oh, I see."

"And let's not forget, Dietrich is in this class…"

This comment caused Esther to flush dark red. Just then, however, before Kate could comment on it, the history teacher strode into class. Everyone was silent, unsure of what kind of person he was.

"Hello class, my name is Mr. Radu Barvon, but just call me Mr. Barvon."

There were murmurs of people speaking around class.

"Now, I will take roll."

Esther knew she would be the first on the roll call list.

"Blanchett, Esther."

"H-here." She stammered. He paused briefly, and gave her the strangest look. Almost as if he could see right through her.

Dietrich shot her a smile, which he probably intended to be reassuring, but turned out seductive, causing Esther to flush.

She could hardly pay attention in class. That look he had given her…did he know something? About Ion? That wouldn't be good. It gave her the most horrible feeling, as if this man knew every single one of her secrets. As if nothing was personal or private anymore, now that he was around.

Then, History was over very quickly, and students rushed for the door. Esther dragged herself out of her seat, and was followed out the door by Dietrich.

"Hello Esther." He gave her that same smile.

"H-hello, Dietrich." She needed to stop stuttering.

Then, he slipped a small square of folded paper into her hand. Confused, Esther examined it. Just when she was bout to ask him what it was for, he vanished.

She proceeded to English with Mrs. Sforza. Just as she was about to open the door, Ion opened it and was about to step out until he saw her. They looked at each other for a moment, before he smiled kindly at her.

"Have a nice class, Esther."

She beamed back. "You too."

The second she was in the classroom, she collapsed in her assigned seat, already worn out from the day's events.

The bell rang, and class began. They were supposed to be memorizing definitions, but Esther was too preoccupied with other things.

One: Getting beat up.

Two: Ion being a vampire.

Three: The new history teacher giving her the strange feeling.

Four: Dietrich's actions towards her.

Five: The note Dietrich had given her, which read, 'Meet me after school by the oak tree.'

She rubbed her temples, feeling too old, even though she was only 15. English seemed to speed by. Was time really flying by so quickly?

She was on her way to P.E. Not exactly her favorite class, although she was a fairly good athlete.

Just when she was about to reach her class, she felt something—or someone—very small smash into her, almost knocking her to the ground.

"Heya Esther!"

"Hi, Seth!" She grinned down at the small, dark haired girl.

"Have you heard about the new guy?"

"Oh, you mean Ion Fortuna?" Esther asked, without thinking.

Seth released her, and jumped up and down in an excited frenzy. "Ohmygosh you know him! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! You HAVE to introduce me to him, Esther!"

Esther chuckled nervously at her tiny friend. "Sure thing, Seth."

She then proceed to where the rest of her class was, with Seth trailing behind her. That's when she noticed Ion there.

She waved when she saw him. "Hey! Ion!"

Seth looked horribly excited.

Hearing Esther, he turned around, grinning as he walked over to her.

"Hello Esther."

"Hey, Ion!"

The P.E. teacher seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Alright class, I am going to pair each of you up with someone else for tennis! No one gets to choose!"

There was a lot of groaning about this, but Mr. Virgil Walsh didn't seem to think they were worth it.

"First pair! Seth Nightroad and Lawrence Shey!"

Seth squealed with excitement as she was called. Her partner looked rather afraid.

"Second pair! Esther Blanchett and Ion Fortuna!"

Both blinked in astonishment, staring at one another.

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Another short chapter. Oh well, I'm planning to update soon.

I know the classes are rushed, but that's because they are unimportant.

P.E. with be a MUCH longer class.

Read and review!


	5. First Notice

Hello, peoples!

I am in a VERY cheerful mood today, so I'll try to get two chapters up! Maybe three, if you're lucky. If.

Now, please read and enjoy! ;3

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Chapter Five

_Fi_r_s_t _N_o_t_i_c_e

Esther exited the girl's locker room. Well, time for tennis…she never was too bad, since she had played before. Hopefully Ion wasn't too bad.

He had exited the locker room at about the same time she did. When he noticed her, he smiled slightly. He always seemed to smile at her when she was around.

"Hello, Esther."

"Hi Ion."

Before either of them could say anymore, their opposing team walked up.

"Are you ready to play?" The girl asked, chomping on a piece of gum, a racket held loosely in her left hand.

"Yes, we are." Esther said smoothly, though for some reason she felt nervous.

"Alright then." Her partner, a boy, said. He tossed Ion and Esther tow rackets: One red, and one blue.

Coincidental.

Once they had their rackets, the boy and girl began making their way to the court, Ion and Esther following them.

"Esther, do you know how to play?" Ion whispered to her.

She simply nodded in response. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"Can you show me then?"

"Sure." She still felt nervous.

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. And you'll be fine."

She smiled at him gratefully.

Now, it was time to serve.

"Ion, listen. One side serves first, and should hit it to the other side. If they fail in this, then it's our serve and our point. If they make a successful serve, however, it is out job to hit it. Make sense?"

He nodded, getting into position and gripping his racket firmly. Esther did the same.

The girl hit the ball, but it hit the next. Now, it was their turn to serve. Holding the ball firmly in her hand, she could feel three pairs of eyes on her as she readied her racket. Then, the ball was thrown, Esther swung her racket as hard as she could—and it landed perfectly in the square.

The boy, however, managed to whack it—hard. It sped directly into the unsuspecting Ion's forehead, making him stumble backwards in amazement, and then fall.

Esther gasped, and rushed over to her partner. "Ion, are you ok?"

He grumbled a bit, standing up and rubbing his forehead. He removed his hand to reveal a small, but painful looking bruise on his forehead. Esther winced. She couldn't help it.

Ion saw her wince, and looked murderous.

"Esther," he said through gritted teeth, "may I serve?"

"Um…" Esther scratched her head uncertainly. "Sure…"

Ion raised the ball high above his head, just as Esther had done, and gave it an almighty whack. It soared high into the air. Their opposing team stared up, mouths hanging open. Ion looked more curious then amazed.

When the ball finally came down (it didn't for a full 15 seconds) it landed perfectly in their opponent's court, with a loud sound that resembled someone being slapped. Very hard.

Their opponents were too amazed to make a move for the ball. It only bounced one, then rolled away. The girl picked up the ball, but it split in half in her hands. She dropped the halves horrified.

Esther cast an amazed glance towards Ion, who suddenly seemed very interested in his racket.

"Ion!" She mouthed to him, too surprised to think. He went over to her, and whispered in her ear.

"I think I hit it too hard. My kind has…extraordinary strength."

Esther placed one hand over her mouth. "Oh my god. No kidding."

Ion nodded, a grimace on his face. "Yeah."

The other team had forfeited, making Ion and Esther the winner. They both knew the exact reason why they forfeited, too.

Esther grinned at her friend and he grinned back. They slapped each other high fives, and ran off to go change again.

Esther gathered up her shower things, clad only in her undergarments. A towel was thrown over her shoulders. She was tired, so didn't notice which shower room she walked into.

'That's strange.' She said to herself, as she saw steam rising from the room. 'I could have sworn that I was the first girl done here…'

Only when she opened the door, she found out that it wasn't the girl's shower room. It was the boy's.

How did she know?

Ion was in there.

And OH MY GOD was she horrified/shocked/amazed/appreciative/interested…

Wait…interested?

Esther couldn't tear her eyes away. Ion had noticed she was sin their too, and when he saw her, his face went as red as his eyes.

Esther's face was even redder. They both mindlessly stuttered out excuses, until Esther had the sense to get the hell out of there. That was a mistake.

But, she would have to admit, he was pretty damn sexy…

WAIT a minute. Sexy? Since when?

Well, since always, but…

Since always? Whoa, whoa. Whoa. WHOA.

Esther wanted to pound on her head. That image of Ion naked in the shower was permanently burned into her brain. Forever and ever and ever and ever…

AH! NO!!! OUT BAD THOUGHTS, OUT!!!

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XD That was extremely fun.

Read and Review!


	6. First Envy

Well, it's getting good, yes?

It will be getting better.

Much better.

Enjoy!

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Chapter Six 

_F_i_r_s_t_ E_n_v_y_

Esther couldn't believe what she had seen. He hadn't exactly seen her at a very good time, either. He probably was thinking about it too.

She shuddered. Hopefully things wouldn't get weird between them. That would be awful.

She sighed. No shower today.

Esther decided to just change instead, then head back outside to watch everyone else play.

As she was changing, she wondered…

Why hadn't she run away in horror after seeing him in the shower? Who knew. It was all to frustrating and confusing and hurt her head a lot. She also felt slightly dizzy, but it wasn't the worst of her worries.

She pushed open the door to the locker room, welcoming the bright sunlight and the cool, sweet spring breeze. She could hear the distant sounds of tennis games going on. Tap, thud, bounce, tap, repeat. It didn't help her headache.

She leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the sky. Just a few days ago, Esther had been…well, bored of life to put it bluntly.

After he came, though, everything changed. Was it because of him she was feeling odd?

Esther groaned softly, putting one hand over her eyes. She wished to have more excitement, and now she was getting it at full blast. Her life was just a mess now.

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Ion dried himself off and went to retrieve his clothes.

Geez, did she ever surprise him!

The fact that she had seen him wasn't bothering him as much as the fact that he had seen her.

In only undergarments.

Well, that wasn't something you saw every day.

Ion finished putting on his clothes, made sure his hair was somewhat dry, then headed out of the locker room.

He noticed Esther, standing a good distance away, leaning against a wall and covering her eyes with one hand.

Frowning slightly, Ion began to make his way over to her,l until a giggling blond haired girl literally tackled him in a hug.

"Oof," was all he said as he stumbled, trying to keep his balance.

Esther was watching this from afar, looking tired, bitter, and unhappy. Her frown seemed to deepen as she watched him and the girl.

"Iiiiooooonnnn…" The girl whined. "Will you go out with meeee? I'll do annnnyythiiinng…"

He glanced at Esther, but she had deliberately turned away. Gezz, now he really needed help.

Unsure of what to say, he simply said, "Ummmm…"

"Pleeeeeease?"

"No, I don't want to date right now." He said politely, which was true. For various reasons.

The gril looked bitter, and released him, stomping away.

Esther was still turned away. With a resigned sigh, Ion approached her. She didn't turn to face him. He cleared his throat, then she finally turned, looking sulky.

"Yes? You want something?" Venom was in each of her words.

Ion sighed, knowing this would be coming. "I know why you're upset."

"Do you really? I always knew you were a sharp one!" She glared at him.

He scowled as well. "That. Didn't. Mean. Anything."

"Oh, did it now? You sure seemed like you were enjoying it."

Ion sighed in frustration, glaring at her. He grabbed her wrist with his inhuman strength, even as she tried to resist, she couldn't pull away. So she just gave up, and settled for glaring at him.

He pulled her away to a corner. Deserted.

He then looked deep into her eyes. His red eyes seemed to be easily piercing through her fragile blue ones.

He lowered his face so he could whisper in her ear. "You're the only human I will ever truly care about."

With that, he gently touched her face, and walked away.

Esther touched her face where he had touched it. Her heart was hammering and she felt dizzier than ever.

What was this?

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Another short one…

And I just enjoy ending chapters in questions. XD

Read and review.


	7. First Kiss

I'm having fun writing this like all get-out.

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Seven

_F_i_r_s_t _K_i_s_s_

Esther felt awkward speaking with Ion, or being near him for that matter. So, she simply didn't speak to him.

At lunch, they didn't even look at each other. Ion didn't seem to be happy with her. So, she kept her head down and ate in silence.

Ion didn't bother starting any conversation, either. He probably was used to not talking. Esther usually sat with someone, and they would always start a conversation. Ion wasn't even trying.

Esther didn't try starting any conversation either, so they both ate quickly in silence.

The end of lunch came all too soon, then there was the last period of the day. For now, at least.

She was surprised when Ion headed in the same direction as her for science.

"Same class?" She asked him quietly.

"I guess so."

They didn't speak for a while after that.

Esther took her assigned seat, next to Dietrich, and Ion quickly sat down on her other side, looking slightly angry.

On the outside, Esther appeared to be calm and composed, but on the inside, she was raging.

Great. Another glare-off between Ion and Dietrich. Really great.

She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't been paying any attention to the teacher.

"Miss Blanchett!" Mr. Petro shouted. She inwardly winced. That man was too damn loud.

"Yes?" She asked in a small voice.

"Write this equation on the board! Now! Perfectly!" He boomed, glaring at her. She felt something being slipped into her hand. Her eyes flicked down, and she noticed it was a piece of paper…with the perfect complete equation written on it.

Esther had a pretty good memory, so after scanning the paper a few times, she was able to write the formula perfectly on the board.

The teacher looked particularly unhappy at that.

"Very well then. Sit down."

Esther smiled slightly when the teacher wasn't looking. She knew exactly who had given her that slip of paper, too.

Making sure nobody was looking, she carefully tore off a strip of her notebook paper, scrawled something down, and stuck it in Ion's textbook when he wasn't looking.

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When he turned the page, Ion noticed something sticking out from between the pages. Frowning slightly, he eased it out. It was a slip of paper. Curious, he unfolded it.

It said, _'Thank you very much for your help.'_

He smiled. Of course he knew who it was from.

Dietrich watched this whole exchange, looking unhappy. Esther didn't seem to have remembered to meet him after school, but he would remind her, just in case. And if he said it was urgent, she could come. He could tell she had had a crush on him for a while. A smirk curled his lips. Well, he would see what would happen.

He too removed a small section of paper from his notebook, then placed it on Esther's book.

Esther noticed this, so she picked up the note and scanned it. When she realized it was from Dietrich, she flushed. Oops. She had completely forgotten that she was going to meet him…

Ion didn't miss this either. He wasn't happy, but there wasn't much he could do. If only class could last forever, where he could keep an eye on her…

He ground his teeth in frustration.

Maybe things would go his way.

Or maybe he was the tooth fairy.

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The bell came, and all too soon, Esther was walking out of class, Ion at her side. He seemed tense, as his eyes were darting from side to side constantly, and his closeness made her feel uncomfortable. It was if he was acting like a bodyguard or something.

"Um, Ion?"

He turned to her. "Yes?"

"I…um…need to meet someone after school."

She could have sworn she saw a flicker of disappointment on his face, but then it was gone before she could tell if she had seen it or not.

"Of course. I understand. Goodbye then, Esther." He smiled warmly at her, before walking away quickly.

She sighed. Now it was time to face him. She could see him from the distance as she approached the meeting spot.

She had no idea what he might want to say or do, but it must be very urgent and important, whatever it was.

"Esther." He smiled in greeting.

She simply nodded, blushing slightly.

"I'll get to the point then, shall I?"

"O-okay."

"This is a very simple question, Esther. I want you to promise me that you'll answer honestly."

"Of course."

He smiled. "Good."

Esther simply nodded, feeling the suspense kick in again.

"Who do you like?"

This caught her off guard. She blinked a few times. "S-sorry?"

"Who do you like? Or…to be more precise…love?"

"I…I…don't know…"

"Of course you do."

"N-no, I-I honestly don't know anymore. To be honest, I used to really like you, but now…I…just don't know anymore…"

He was silent. She prayed she hadn't offended him in any way.

"Esther. Come closer."

She cautiously approached him. He was so tall, and so handsome. It was no wonder almost every girl in the school worshipped him like he was a god.

It was then that he kissed her.

Her eyes widened, her face flushed, and she was too startled to respond.

She realized she didn't want this. Lifting her hands, she gently pushed him away. Breathing heavily. He looked slightly startled.

Tears made their way down her still-bruised face. "I'm sorry…but…I can't. I'm sorry!"

Then she turned around and left, crying all the way.

'What have I done? What will I do? Someone help me…anyone!'

She was still crying, even when she finally made it home and collapsed on her bed. She was pretty much cried out at this point.

So she just lay in her bed, trembling.

She was too lost to think, so she just fell asleep.

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Yes, things are getting intense. Yay.

Thank you so very much to those who have reviewed this story! Arigato!

Please continue to read and review!


	8. First Problems

Lol. Yay, update!

I almost forgot about this fic in my updating frenzy.

Well, here is chapter eight! Enjoy! ;3

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Chapter Eight 

_F_i_r_s_t_ P_r_o_b_l_e_m_s_

Esther groaned softly as she woke up. Her head hurt like hell, and she had never felt so tired in her life. With another groan of discontent, she rolled over to look at her alarm clock.

She wanted to slap her forehead after she read the time. Great. According to the lovely, bright green numbers on her clock, it was currently 12:15 in the morning. Had she really slept that long?

She rolled back onto her back, and threw one arm across her forehead. She immediately removed her arm when she felt how hot her forehead was. She groaned even louder this time.

It was no wonder why she felt so crappy. She had a fever.

That was great, just great.

She only stared dully at the ceiling, her eyelids drooping with weariness and exhaustion. She felt lightheaded and dizzy as she felt herself drop off to sleep again…

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Ion leaned lazily on the sofa at home. He had long since finished with his homework, so now he was pretty much bored.

Radu moved about in the kitchen, probably cooking. Well, Ion _would _have been cooking, spare the fact that he couldn't. At all.

So, he decided to be useless and lazy. He didn't even feel like emptying the cardboard boxes that were still full of his belongings.

Even though Radu had asked him to unpack every hour on the hour, Ion didn't bother replying or doing what he asked. He just felt like lounging around doing nothing at the moment.

Radu peeked out of the kitchen to notice his friend slouched over, being lazy. The older Methuselah sighed in exasperation. He had been like this since they had first moved in. It was so ridiculous.

It also irritated him to no end.

"Ion. Any progress on unpacking?"

He received a grunt in reply. Oh how he desperately longed to gice Ion a good punch on the nose. Just once. But he chose to restrain himself.

"Well, are you hungry?"

"No."

"Finally, a coherent answer."

"Shut up."

"And more than one word, too? My, my, I must be lucky."

Ion turned and glared. And wow, could the kid really glare. Radu inwardly winced, but on the outside he simply shrugged.

"Whatever floats your boat. Oh, and by the way, _her _funeral is this Sunday. Her father called and asked me if you wanted to come."

Ion's glare immediately transformed into a horror-stricken expression. Radu knew how sensitive he was about that, but it was the only way to get him to become less lifeless.

"Ah. I knew that would wake you up."

Ion didn't respond; instead, he turned his head away and went back to sulking.

After what seemed like forever, Ion spoke up.

"How is her family doing?"

Radu leaned against the wall, silent and thoughtful before he answered.

"I don't know. If I had to guess, her family must be pretty upset about her death. You did want the honest answer, right?"

Ion simply nodded, his eyes downcast. "Did her…father ask anything else?"

"He actually wanted to talk with you, but I don't think that would have been suitable."

Ion looked back at Radu, his eyes were dead and empty. "Why would they ask me to come?"

Radu sighed and shrugged. "I wouldn't know. If I had to guess, I'd say they don't really blame you."

Ion snorted softly in response. "Ridiculous."

"How so?"

"I'm saying that it's ridiculous that they would ever want to see my face again."

"True. But remember, they hardly know anything. Plus, there were no witnesses, so there is no reason anyone should know anything. Unless you told them?" Radu arched an eyebrow.

"No. I couldn't bring myself to do such a thing."

"Well, that's enough of that kind of talk for now. Are you sure you're not hungry?"

Ion stood up slowly. "No, actually, I think I'll eat something."

Rau turned away, a satisfied smirk on his face.

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A phone rang.

Dietrich immediately picked it up.

"It's about time you picked up." A harsh, young female voice crackled through the receiver.

"I apologize. Some of us _do _sleep you know."

He heard her teeth click together in frustration.

"Dietrich, I can't find him."

He knew ho she was talking about, but decided to play dumb. "Who?"

"That damned useless _thing, _Ion Fortuna!" It sounded as of she was growling slightly now.

"So, no luck in locating him?"

"Absolutely none!" She snarled through her cellphone.

Dietrich grinned. "I can give you a tip, Lea, but only if you're willing to make the trip down here. And of you're also willing to do me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" She sounded suspicious.

"It's nothing much. I'll fill you in on the details when you get here."

"And what makes you think," she hissed, "that I'm traveling all the way down to where you like on some stupid tip?"

"Because." Dietrich paused for effect. "Because Ion's here, Lea."

"Wh-what?"

"He goes to my school. He's here, here in town."

The line immediately went dead.

Smirking, Dietrich hung up his phone as well.

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Well! A lot of problems. Hence the name of the chapter. XD If you have any questions, go ahead and ask, but I'm pretty sure I've covered everything.

Review! (Please?)


	9. First Encounter

Hello readers! I hope you're all having good lives and summers. :P

Now, the next chapter! Hopefully more will be revealed. So, stay tuned!

Read and enjoy. ;3

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Chapter Nine

_F_i_r_s_t _E_n_c_o_u_n_t_e_r

The sun streamed through the windows. The curtains didn't help much.

Esther sighed heavily as she sat up. There was no way she could make it to school today. She hadn't woken up on time. Not to mention that fact that she was still feeling horrible.

She slid carefully off the bed, her feet landing lightly on the floor.

She hadn't ever really missed school before. This was going to be a disaster.

Just when she finally made it downstairs, the phone began to ring. Loudly, shrilly, and enough to worsen Esther's headache.

Grumbling, her picked up the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this the residence if Esther Blanchett?"

"Um, yes, yes it is. May I ask who's calling?"

"Yes, this is Mr. Benjamin. I'm the principal of your high school."

"Oh! Mr. Benjamin, what can I do for you?"

"Well, we just received a new student today. She requested that you would show her around."

"Oh. I apologize principal, but I'm feeling very ill today, so maybe I can tomorrow?"

"No, no, don't worry about it. We'll find someone else. Be sure to get well soon so you can return to school!"

"Yes, I will, thank you sir."

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

She put the phone back down. A new student…

The school had literally just received a new student yesterday. It was odd, true, but not the worst of her problems.

She leaned back against the wall. She had never been absent. This would be horrible.

Oh how she hated the flu now.

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Ion had already arrived at school. Too damn early, in his opinion.

Right on time for an early start, in Radu's opinion.

"Well, Radu can just shove it up his—"

"Excuse me."

A girl approached him. Ion looked up at her. She was slender and pale skinned, with wide emerald eyes and shoulder length dark brown hair that fell freely over her shoulders.

"Y-yes?"

"You are Ion Fortuna, yes?"

Ion blinked, amazed that she knew him.

"Yes, and you are…?"

"I'm Lea Kahn. I'm a new student here and I've been told to find you so you can show me around."

Ion frowned slightly to himself. There was something oddly familiar about this girl and her name…

"Yes. Of course I will." He forced a fake smile. "Well, let me see your schedule."

She handed it to him, and he scanned through her classes, not really reading it.

"Alright. This way, please."

Lea smiled and bowed her head. "Thank you very much for doing this, Ion Fortuna."

"Of course. No problem."

He walked ahead of her. He began to wonder again. What was with this girl? Why did she seem so…so…familiar?

He didn't know, for now at least.

And where the hell was Esther?

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Dietrich parked his dark car in the shade, then proceeded to step out of his car and go to school. If his guesses were correct, Lea would be here. A little rash, so he thought, but she tended to be naïve like that.

Second theory, she would simply randomly kill Ion, drawing lot's of attention to herself and the school. Another reckless choice, but still a possibility.

Third theory, she had simply thought that his tip was a lie and continued to search for Ion using her own methods.

But that was the least likely theory.

Smirking, he headed out to school, quite eager to see Esther again today. Perhaps she had decided who she really liked after his kiss.

And is Lea did indeed decide to kill Ion, his goal would be that much easier to reach.

He never would have dreamed that she would be absent.

When he found out, he was most displeased. He would be paying Esther a little visit tonight. That was for sure.

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Esther was back in her bed, laying down on her back. She couldn't seem to sleep. So, she pulled out her cell phone and decided to play a game, until she noticed that she had a text message.

Frowning slightly with curiosity and confusion, she found the message and opened it.

She couldn't tell whom it was from; they didn't specify their name. But the message itself sent shivers up her spine.

_You're time is up._

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Eh…not that happy with this one. Sorry if it seemed rushed…

And if anyone had any ideas, I'll see if I can fit them into the plotline. If I like you're idea, I'll dedicate the chapter to you. ;3

Read and review!


	10. First Memories, pt I

Well! I've finally returned. Now I can get working. I need to sit my lazy little butt down and start typing.

We'll be looking at Ion's past. I'm pretty sure this will take more than one chapter to finish, so bear with me!

Here goes, hope you like!

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Chapter Ten

_F_i_r_s_t_ M_e_m_o_r_i_e_s, _pt I

He knew he had seen her somewhere before.

_  
_Somewhere deep in his heart, he knew exactly who she was, why she was here, and why he thought he knew her.

He just hadn't realized it yet.

As he walked alongside her, he thought. He lost himself in thought as he walked and talked with her, not really paying attention to what she was saying.

He usually never forgot a face, a name, a voice, or anything that marked someone for who they were.

He had an excellent memory.

But for one reason or another, he had forgotten who she was.

He didn't even notice when she stopped walking.

"Is something the matter, Ion?"

She looked up at him innocently with wide eyes. But there was something behind those eyes that was far from innocent.

Just like that, he remembered.

How could he have forgotten?

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_It was a gorgeous sunny day. Exactly the type of days Ion hated the most. _

_So he sulked in the shadows. Why he was forced to go to something as pointless as school, he probably would never know. _

_Students were clustered in various areas around campus. Comfortable chatter filled the air, occasionally punctured by bouts of laughter or loud, hoarse shouts._

_It was normal enough, he decided, but not the place for him._

_  
With a sigh, he stood up and turned, preparing to leave, until a small girl approached him._

_  
"E-excuse me…" She looked up at him with wide, shining eyes. _

_  
Ion sighed heavily and turned around._

_  
"What?" He snapped, his ruby-red eyes glinting from the darkness of the shadows._

_The small girl seemed startled by his harshness. She quickly composed herself._

_  
"Because I want to."_

_  
He didn't like speaking with humans. He had better ways to spend the day. 'hanging out' with humans at an all-human school was far from his ideal day. His ideal day would be spending time inside. Oh how he hated sunlight._

_Apparently the small human wasn't going to go away just yet, much to his displeasure._

"_Why?"_

_  
Such a simple word, yet it drove him insane._

"_Just go away. Leave me alone." He scowled at her._

_She simply blinked a few times. "You haven't answered my question."_

_  
He narrowed his eyes. He had always been told that his glare was vicious, and this theory was proved as the annoying young human flinched, now looking slightly fearful._

"_When I said 'go away' I meant it. I want you out of my sight, so leave me alone you useless pesky creature!" _

_His bitter, cruel words did their job. The girl turned around, her head hung low, and sprinted away in the direction of the lunch tables._

_  
Under normal circumstances, he would have snorted in disgust, but instead he found himself feeling a little bit guilty. What brought this on? That was all he could wonder._

_He relaxed his glare and frowned slightly, concerned that he cared how that human may have felt._

_The thought continued to bother him as he continued to walk away._

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Ion swallowed, feeling his throat tighten and his heart beat speed up.

"Are you alright with finding your classes now?" He was amazed he could speak at all.

She nodded, her eyes focused on him.

"Very well." It didn't sound like his voice at all. It sounded like a stranger speaking. "If you'll excuse me, there is somewhere I need to be right now."

He didn't wait for a response; he turned on his heel and left her, his hands clenched into tight fists.

Behind him, Lea tried her best to suppress a wicked smirk. "So now you remember me, Ion Fortuna. I'm flattered."

She turned on her heel and walked in the opposite direction, a glint of malice in her eyes and a wicked smirk upon her lips.

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_He saw her again. _

_That annoying girl._

_  
The one he felt guilty for yelling at._

_  
As soon as she saw him, he looked away, drumming her fingers quickly on her desk._

_So that was how she knew him._

_  
That brat would pay dearly for making him feel guilt._

_Other vampires didn't give a damn about humans, so why should he? It was so pointless to care, but the concept continued to bother him all through class._

_  
When the bell rang, he didn't leap out of his seat to be the first one out the door. Instead, he waited for the strange young human girl._

_She looked horrified when she saw him standing over her._

"_You. Come."_

_She only nodded fearfully, quickly tossing her things in the back._

_  
It had been a week since he last paid attention to her, and a week ago was the same day she approached him. _

_She kept plenty of distance between him and herself._

_Good. That was the way it should be._

_Neither of them spoke for a while._

"_Why did you approach me?"_

_His voice was cold and low, his eyes narrowed and focused only straight ahead._

_She gulped and looked down, apparently contemplating an answer that would not anger him._

_  
"Because you looked lonely." She kept her eyes down, her face calm and serious._

_Instead of sneering at her like he might have, his voice was soft and quiet._

_  
"What made you think that?"_

_  
She looked up at him this time, her eyes wider than usual. She bit her lip as she wondered whether she should answer him or not._

"_Because," she paused, her eyes meeting his, "that's how I usually act. I have no friends. So, I thought that maybe…" Her voice trailed off and she ooked away._

_  
Ion stared at the back of her head, eyes narrowed slightly. _

_She suddenly turned back to him._

_  
"Why do you glare all the time?"_

_The random question caught him off guard. _

"_Because." He didn't feel the need to say anything else. Besides, he couldn't think of anything else to say anyways._

"_You would look much better of you didn't look so bitter all the time," she began, "and maybe you would be less lonely."_

_That girl acted as if she knew his loneliness. "Be quiet girl." He hissed quietly. _

_She immediately averted her eyes, biting her lip again. It was a few seconds before she spoke up again._

"_It's Lea."_

"_What?"_

"_My name is Lea Kahn." She lifted up her eyes to meet his somewhat astonished ones._

_By God, this girl was persistent. Annoying, foolish, and not too bright either. _

"_I'm Ion." As if such a thing mattered anymore._

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Ion gripped the wall with one hand tightly.

How, how, how?

How was this happening?

Why?

He felt like bashing his head into the wall. He resisted, though. His head already felt like it was going to fall apart anyways.

He could have sworn she was dead…

He gave his head a violent shake, gripping the wall so tightly he felt it would crack.

He would always see that same scene over and over again in his mind. She was his waking nightmare. She was the very thing that haunted his dreams.

And now…he feared himself. He feared what he could do to others like her.

Ion knew he was far from innocent.

He was a killer.

…And somehow, she was still alive…

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First part of chapter ten! Wow, this story is going very far, isn't it?

Well, keep on reading and reviewing readers, there will always be more to come!


	11. First Memories, pt II

And…next chapter up. I'll try to finish up this little period of flashbacks as quickly as possible.

Don't worry, We'll be getting back to all of the drama with Dietrich and Esther soon enough.

For now, we need to know why Ion is the way he is.

Okay, enjoy!

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Chapter Eleven

_F_i_r_s_t_ M_e_m_o_r_i_e_s, _pt 2

_Even though it seemed ludicrous, even in his own mind, Ion and Lea became pretty good friends. Lea was his first friend and vice-versa. For now, both were content with one another's presence._

_At first, Ion didn't understand what it meant to have a friend._

_Did it mean he was always eager to see her?_

_Did it mean he spent most of his waking hours thinking about her?_

_Did it mean he would die of agony if anything happened to her?_

_Did it mean…he always felt strangely elated when he was around her?_

_No. He knew this was no longer a friendship for him._

_Ion Fortuna had fallen in love, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it._

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Ion only leaned back against the wall now, his eyes half lidded and his mind foggy. All he could do was continue to relive these memories. The very ones that tormented him.

He closed his eyes and tried to breath evenly. She was here, and very much alive.

Why, though?

…Why him…?

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Lea had fallen in love with Ion as well. She had no idea about his true identity. He never told her.

He planned to keep it a secret.

That, and his true feelings.

_He never noticed how thirsty he was._

_He didn't pay attention to the steady throbbing in his sides._

_He ignored the stabbing pains in his throat._

_He tried his best to suppress his lustful craving for the crimson liquid._

_But that was a feat that no vampire could ever hope to achieve. He had been holding it off for far too long, thinking that if he ignored it, it would simply vanish._

_It did not, of course, but that didn't stop him from trying._

_Everything was downhill from there. Everything was rolling away and out of control before he could reach it. No matter how far he reached, he knew it was too late. The wicked side of him had prevailed and taken over. His body only sought after blood, now._

_He somehow knew what was going to happen before he did it._

_He grabbed her shoulders, pinning her to a wall. Her green eyes widened with shock and confusion. _

_One hand remained pinning her down, while the other reached for her neck. Feeling her pulse. A disgusting smirk twisted his features. Even Lea niw saw that he was no longer the Ion she knew and loved._

"_Ion, what—" Her sentence was cut short by her own gasp of pain._

His fangs pierced deeply into the girl's neck. Her struggles weakened as he drained more from her. Her eyes dimmed and her skin took on a gray pallor. Lea was clutching on to the last threads of her life.

_Then her legs could no longer support her. She collapsed under her own weight, but Ion held her up, his jaws still clamped firmly on the flesh of her neck._

_When he finally realized what he was doing, it was too late._

_He knew she was dead. _

_He stepped backwards away from her body, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth in disgust._

_With that, he was gone, leaving the body of his fallen love crumpled on the ground._

_After that day, he made a vow to himself, and swore never to break it._

_He would never attack a human again for their blood. Even if it meant his own death by starvation, he would never kill another human for his own thirst._

_With that, he knew he had to leave this town, and move somewhere far, far, away, where nobody could ever find him…_

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Lea watched him intently. Good. He obviously remembered everything now.

That stupid creature would pay dearly for taking her normal life away. He would pay so much, she would make sure he had nothing left to give.

She would take everything from him.

"But first," she murmured to herself, tapping the small, rectangular photograph in the yearbook, "I'll need to remove his friends."

She frowned as she leafed through the yearbook.

It obviously wasn't hers. It was the yearbook from last year. The from cover was battered and scratched. She had managed to wrangle it from some random kid passing by. Her frown deepening, she continued to search the photographs, finding nothing.

"He must have a friend here," she muttered, "or he wouldn't have been waiting for someone."

She scowled now. This was ever so frustrating.

She heard footsteps, and quickly leapt up to hide. You could never be too careful, especially in her case.

There were two girls, giggling and talking.

"….Well I heard they're going out."

"No way! He's only been here, like, one day!"

"Yeah, but they are awfully close already…"

"I still don't know who you're talking about."

"Trust me, you'll be surprised when you hear it."

"Of come on, whoever might be dating that hottie, Ion Fortuna, must go down."

'Dating?' Lea only wondered. 'Yes, if he is indeed dating someone, they must go down.'

"I know, really. Well, you know that redhead? What's-her-name, I forgot. Anyways, they've got a ton of classes together."

"Oh my God! Esther Blanchett? She's in my first period!"

"Seriously?"

"Yes!"

The girls began whispering and giggling ans they continued on their way down the hall.

Lea was already in action, flipping through the yearbook.

"Found you" she hissed aloud.

Sure enough, there she was. A pale-skinned blue eyed girl with hair as red as blood.

"You're mine, girl," she snarled under her breath, "you're mine."

A gentle gust of wind turned the pages in the yearbook. A neatly scrawled passage caught her attention. When she read the name of who wrote it, her eyes widened and she clenched her teeth. Her face then immediately relaxed as soon as she saw the cell phone number there.

Lea flipped out her cell phone, hands shaking slightly, and sent a text message. She leaned back against the wall, her breathing heavier than usual.

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Esther's eyes were wide, her heart racing.

"Who would send this?" She asked aloud. "Why?"

Of course, no one answered her.

She gave her aching head a violent shake. Wow. That really helped her headache.

Maybe she was just going insane. It could have been a prank after all. Her phone lay discarded on the floor. She lay sprawled out on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She was still too afraid to reply to the message.

To afraid to do anything but lie there and stare, waiting for her heart rate to decrease.

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Sorry peoples, I've been lazy. XD I've been playing my DS a lot lately, so sorry to those who were waiting on this story!

Alright, we're done with the flashbacks, yay! I don't like writing flashbacks, but sometimes, they are necessary.

Please read and review! ;3


	12. First Friendship

Nothing to say this time, enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter Twelve

_F_i_r_s_t_ F_r_i_e_n_d_s_h_i_p_

Esther knew, that after a few days, it was time to go back to school. Besides, her fever had gone down a lot, and her head didn't hurt as much. She only had a slight cough and didn't feel so nauseous or tired anymore.

Esther chuckled to herself as she searched her closet for something to wear. Who would have thought she would be eager to go to school?

Esther usually didn't care what she wore, so she grabbed a light blue tank top and a pair of jeans. She grabbed a matching light blue headband.

After she had finished eating, she grabbed all of her make-up homework (the school had been sending it to her, she never liked falling behind) and shoved it into her massive, black binder. She shoved the said binder into her backpack, heaved it over her shoulders, grabbed her cell phone off the ledge, and rushed out the door.

It was time to get back to school.

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It had been a few days since Lea had shown up.

It had been a few days since he last had his flashback.

After this, he did his best to avoid the young girl. Her wide, emerald green eyes now scared him, more than anything, and all he wanted to do was avoid her.

It was too coincidental how she had shown up so conveniently close to her 'funeral', which he was invited to, but of course, didn't attend.

He was so sure he had killed her that day. So sure…

Apparently, he was wrong.

He had figured out days ago that moping about it wouldn't help but even so, he looked dead and depressed. Not that anyone else could tell. The only person who could read him at all was a girl he had known for only a day. Ion sighed, not even paying attention to the book he was supposed to be reading in English.

School hadn't started yet, Radu still made him come much too early for his liking. With a sigh, Ion closed the novel, unable to concentrate on it anymore.

Esther had been gone for a few days now. He had heard from her two best friends, Kate and Seth, that she was ill. So he had learned to deal with life without her.

Dietrich, too, had noticed Esther had been missing for several days. He hadn't had the opportunity to visit her yet, and Lea still hadn't made a move to kill him. He wasn't happy about the change of events. That was for sure.

But, when Esther strode in from the parking lot, Ion and Dietrich both looked up at exactly the same time.

Grimacing at the two pairs of eyes on her, Esther walked by the two pretending she hadn't noticed them. Ion stood up, easily catching up to her.

Esther smiled when she noticed him.

"Nice to see you're back." He grinned a little.

"Nice to see you again too." She smiled a little in response. The two made their way over to Mr. Nightroad's class, waiting for the bell to ring and class to begin.

"Esther," Ion mumbled, without looking at her, "I was wondering…if…" His voice trailed off uncertainly, his red eyes staring off into the distance.

"Yes?" Esther tried to encourage him.

He looked at her now. "I was wondering if…we could be friends from now on."

She blinked a few times, evidently surprised. "What? Why? Weren't we already?"

Ion's shock was much greater than Esther's he said nothing, simply staring in awe at her.

"I wish you would stop staring at me." She fidgeted a little. "I it make me uncomfortable."

"Sorry." He quickly turned his focus to the closed classroom door.

The bell rang then, and Mr. Nightroad eagerly opened the door, inviting them all in.

Everyone sat in their usual seats as Mr. Nightroad began wildly talking about various events and field trips that they could be doing.

The bell rang, and the rest of the day continued in an easy matter, nothing going wrong. It was warm out, and the sun was shining brightly. Esther couldn't remember the last time she had seen the sun so clearly.

Everything went smoothly for Esther, that is, until History. Esther knew that Radu was a friend of Ion's so he didn't frighten her anymore.

The one thing that surprised her was the new student. She was pretty, with shoulder length chocolate colored hair and dazzling emerald eyes. The small girl smiled kindly at Esther as she entered the room.

Esther smiled weakly in return, and took her seat. Radu quickly took roll, and then began reading some passage in a foreign language. Esther wasn't really listening, though. Something about that girl was odd. It gave her the creeps. Now, unfortunately, really wasn't the time to find out more about her. But as the girl gave Esther another small smile, she was certain.

Yes, there is something up with her. And Esther would find out exactly what.

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Ion exited his English class, feeling very detached from his surroundings. Everyone else seemed to be off in their own world, and he paid no attention to them. He did give a start, though, when someone crashed into him and fell to the floor.

Esther looked up bitterly, preparing to punch the lights out of whoever knocked her down, but instead just stared with a dumbfounded look upon her face.

Ion looked startled, but then bent to pick up her binder for her. Esther pushed herself up, dusting the dirt from her jeans with one hand.

"Sorry," she said breathlessly, quickly dusting herself off. Ion handed her binder to him, and she smiled and nodded in thanks.

"It's alright," he murmured, so quietly, she barely heard him.

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The rest of the day continued without any problems. So did the rest of the week. Everything went a little too well, Esther mused to herself.

Unfortunately, there were no further developments on finding out about that girl. All Esther knew about her was that her name was Lea Kahn, and this was the girl she was told to escort around the school on the first day she had been sick.

It had been two weeks since she had come back to school, and nothing happened. Literally, _nothing. _Everything was just boring again.

It was like a mountain. There was flat land around it, then suddenly everything went up, reached the highest point, and everything came right back down again the blink of an eye. Her life had returned to flat land.

All of the insanity of those couple of days were officially behind her. Or so she tried to believe.

Dietrich now scared her. That was a new change. She and Ion had stayed friends, and Esther actually didn't fail her math test. With a B+, she was more than satisfied. Luckily for her, her birthday was coming up next week.

For most high school students, Esther's life would be heaven.

For Esther, however, it got boring pretty quick.

She sighed, tapping her pencil on the desk. Strangely enough, everything was normal, but at the same time, it just _wasn't._

She vaguely paid attention to her English teacher as she prattled on about the importance of a dictionary.

Well, let's look over the basic facts of her life:

1. Her best friend is a vampire.

2. The guy she thinks she stills likes gives off the aura of a kidnapper.

3. The new girl just plainly scares the hell out of her, but she still wants to find out more about her.

4. Her feelings are beyond confused and tangled.

5. Her sixteenth birthday is something she wishes won't happen. Why, she doesn't know.

Esther buried her face in her arms. Reviewing these simple facts in her mind made her feel just _excellent _inside.

…Geez, she really needed a shrink.

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There you are, hope you guys liked. Now we'll be back in action. ;3


	13. First Misfortune

Hey everyone, because it's chapter 13, it's going to be Friday the 13th in my story, okay? ;3

I love all of my reviewers. Hope you guys keep on reviewing, I'm having tons of fun with this tale.

And also, whoever figures out why I called this story First Sight, I'll write you a oneshot! Probably not a LONG oneshot, but a oneshot all the same. :P

Love you all, enjoy!

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Chapter Thirteen

_F_i_r_s_t _M_i_s_f_o_r_t_u_n_e_

Life seemed to be speeding by at an incredible pace. School was so close to ending, and it was nearing exam time. A time where Esther wanted to shoot herself.

Ion was currently tutoring her, a patient expression upon his face and a murderously frustrated expression upon Esther's.

"Why can't I get this?" She gritted her teeth and glared at the ceiling as if it had committed some crime against her.

"Esther, it just takes time…" Ion made an attempt to calm her down.

"It's almost my birthday, and THIS is how the stupid school repays me? I'm telling you, they're out to get me."

Ion looked thoughtful as he considered that. "Now that's actually a possibility."

Esther whipped around to glare at him, her brilliant blue eyes as hard as sapphires and as bitter as a stormy sea.

Ion immediately raised his hands as a sign of surrender. "Just kidding, just kidding."

"Ugh." She let her head drop to the table. "I'm never going to pass math at this rate, am I?" Her muffled question came a few seconds later.

"You will, Esther, you just need to keep calm," he emphasized 'calm' slightly, "and study hard."

She lifted her head up to grin at him. "Thanks for coming over here to help."

"I've already told you, it's no big deal, I'm glad to help."

"Thanks."

He grinned. "You're welcome."

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It was already Friday, and thank the heavens above.

But, as Lea reminded herself, it was no just any Friday, but Friday the thirteenth. It would be marvelous.

It was time to move. It was time to kill Ion.

No, it's not, as she constantly reminded herself, it's time to do away with his redheaded friend.

She would strike at midnight. Yes, as Lea reminded herself, it was very cliché, but cliché wasn't a bad thing when it came to murders/torturing/kidnapping, etc.

At the moment, kidnapping would be what she was after.

Why on earth would she waste such a delicious little human?

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Finally. It was Friday. After Friday, there were weekends. Esther practically drooled at the thought. Weekends…

It was fairly warm today, just like the previous days had been, the breezes warmed by an upcoming summer. It was nice to know that the long school year was finally coming to a close. At the same time, she was going to miss everything about school.

Esther looked around the familiar campus, her eyes falling upon various things that she could fondly associate with good memories. At least she would be back the next year, so it wasn't like she would never see this place again.

She sighed and made her way to her history class. It was incredible that it was her third class of the day already. Everything seemed to be moving so fast…

She didn't notice when a figure crept up behind her. She was far too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice anyone or anything near her.

Lea smiled to herself. Now would be the prefect time to act, but she knew she would get caught and the whole operation would be a complete fiasco. Nothing would work out if she were reckless. But that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to _scare _the girl a bit…

Lea stood a foot away from Esther, just behind her. She lightly tapped her on the back.

The redhead whipped around with a start. "O-oh, hello Lea, you scared me a bit."

On the outside, Lea gave a polite smile, but on the inside, she was grinning with amusement.

"I apologize, Esther, but I was wondering if I could have a word with you on the way to History."

Esther blinked a few times, then she finally remembered that they were in the same class.

"Oh, of course."

Lea smiled again. "I was wondering…if you would meet me somewhere after school? There's something important I would like to speak with you about, and I would prefer that no one else heard. Is that alright with you?"

Esther smiled a little as well. "Of course, where would you like to meet?"

"At the end of the parking lot."

"Alright, I'll see you then."

Lea beamed. "Of course."

As soon as Esther turned away, her wide smile turned into a malicious smirk.

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The final bell rang, and students eagerly rushed from their last classes to head home while teachers yelled for order, although nobody listened and everyone ran for the door anyways. After a good minute or so, the teachers usually gave up.

Esther and Ion exited their science class, talking about random, insignificant things.

"Oh, Ion, I almost forgot. I was supposed to meet someone after school today, so I'll just walk home."

Ion blinked a few times. "Are you sure? I can wait…"

"No., really, it's alright. Besides, I need the exercise." She grimaced at the last word. "Well, see ya!" She waved and dashed off in the opposite direction.

"Wait, Esther!" He called after her. "Who are you meeting?"

"Lea!" She yelled back. "Lea Kahn, the new girl!"

Ion felt his stomach drop and his heart grow cold. This couldn't be good. Not at all. The girl presumed dead now back to life…it was all just too strange…

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Lea tapped her foot impatiently on the cement. Tonight was the night. Excitement simmered in her gut, her heartbeat slightly faster than normal. It was almost time. So close, so close…

Lea closed her wide, shimmering eyes, feeling the warm breeze brush the hair off her face. Nothing could stop her tonight, everything was perfect and in place for her plans.

"Lea!" Esther smiled broadly as she approached the smaller girl.

Lea did her very best not to grimace, instead she gave Esther a half-smile. "Esther, I'm so glad you remembered."

"Well, to be honest, I almost forgot." She scratched her head nervously. Lea's eyes narrowed by a fraction of an inch. That was a familiar habit. Had the girl really been hanging around Ion that much?

"I was wondering if I could drop by your house tonight. I need to make up some history notes, and I don't really know anyone else in class." She hoped her embarrassed smile was convincing.

Esther nodded slowly, her bright ocean-like eyes reflecting some of the dying sunlight. "Sure."

"I was also wondering…if you would mind if I stayed the night. My parents are out for the week and it's been terribly lonely."

Esther smiled a little, apparently trying to comfort her. It was a wasted effort. "Of course, that would be fine."

"Thank you very much." Lea did her best to plaster a bright smile upon her face.

"No problem." Esther adjusted her hold on her binder. "Well, I'll be going now. See you later." Esther turned around and began to walk away.

The smile slipped off her face quicker than melted butter on wax paper. "Of course, I'll see you later." The last word came out as a low growl. Her emerald eyes narrowed, hardened with bitterness and pure dislike for the redhead.

With a flip of her pale brown hair, the small girl was gone with the summer breeze.

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Her breath came in heavy puffs as she ran out of the parking lot. Oh how she wanted to get home early, but the backpack on her back and the binder in her arms weighed more than a crate of solid steel bricks.

What she wasn't expecting was to run into Ion. Well, to be more precise, _trip _over Ion, but the concept was the same.

"Gah!" Her binder thumped to the ground, and her backpack banged against her already sore back.

She screwed her eyes tightly shut, throwing out her arms to brace her fall, but the impact never came.

Esther nervously cracked open one eye. She was at least a good couple of feet from the cement. She then felt the arms wrapped around her waist, and saw his back discarded near her forgotten binder.

When she finally put all of the facts together, her face rivaled her hair.

"Are you alright?" His voice came from behind her. She couldn't tell if he was blushing or not, but the discomfort in his voice told otherwise.

She shifted around to face him, eyes wide. "I…you…I…" She closed her mouth and bit her tongue, figuring that speech wouldn't get her anywhere at the moment. She simply nodded, eyes still wide and face still red.

His eyes were unreadable, but the faintest tinge of pink covered his cheekbones. "Good. Try not to be more clumsy next time.

She nodded mutely, blinking a few times. He was so close to her…

Her eyes were immediately drawn to his face. She barely noticed the faint traces of pink on his cheeks darken slightly. It was all very insignificant to her at moment…

Esther had no idea how long they stared like that, but when both finally remembered their positions, they leapt away from each other, blushing darkly and muttering a thousand apologies.

"Well…um…let's go."

Esther nodded quickly. "Um…right…"

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Night had fallen. Time seemed to be speeding by faster than normal. It was already almost time for Lea to come over and spend the night.

That was the last thing on her mind, though. She blushed a bit as she gazed up at her bedroom ceiling, the days' events replaying over and over in her mind. It felt like a dream, it felt lik it didn't happen…

Of course, this was reality, so it really had happened. Either that, or she was having a very serious hallucination problem.

The rind of the doorbell resounded throughout her small house. Esther leapt up from her bed with a start. "Coming!"

She raced downstairs, opened the door, and let her in.

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Time was still moving fast. Lea had finished copying the notes, and now the two girls were taking about various things.

"Esther, let's play Truth or Dare."

Her blue eyes were blank. "Eh…what?"

"You know what it is." Lea rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Alright, alright. You go first."

Lea smirked. "With pleasure."

Something in Lea's voice made Esther shudder. Something about Lea really crept her out to be honest.

"Truth or dare?"

"Uh…truth."

"Do you like Ion."

Dead silence.

"Eh…eh…WHAT?"

"Do you? Do you like him. I know you do, right?"

Esther blushed furiously, looking down and giving a small nod. Lea grinned at the blushing girl. "Nice."

"Truth or dare?"

Lea grinned. "Truth."

Esther had no idea what pushed her to say it, but the question flowed from her lips before she could stop it. "What are you?"

Lea's smile faltered. "Huh?"

"I mean…what exactly are you? You're so mysterious and strange…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes widened at Lea's smirk.

"You want to know?" The small girl stood and gave off such an aura of authority that Etsher could only look up at the small girl.

"Then I'll tell you. I'm a vampire. I wasn't born one. I was created. I nearly died in the process." The girl grinned ruefully. "I nearly died. Would you like to know the name of my would-be killer?"

Esther could only watch in horror, her blue eyes wide.

Lea bent down so she could whisper in the redhead's ear. "A vampire named…Ion Fortuna."

She stood up, raised her hand, then swung; Esther's world went dark and so did her heart.

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I'm falling asleep while finishing this. I'm so dead and dizzy…ah.. Sorry if nothing made sense, I think I fell asleep in the middle of this…

Please review…


	14. First Deception

OMG! I love you all! This is my most popular story…ever! 43 reviews is far more than I deserve. Lots of hugs to my reviewers and readers, you have no idea how much it makes me happy to know my stories are appreciated…

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Chapter Fourteen

_F_i_r_s_t_ D_e_c_e_p_t_i_o_n

When Esther awoke, she felt as if she had been sleeping for days, not just hours. Her head felt sore, and she felt heavy and groggy all over. She winced as she stretched, her stiff muscles protesting. How long was she here?

But then again…where _is _here?

Everything was pitch black and freezing cold; she could somewhat see her breath coming out in a mist in front of her. She shivered, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warn them.

Her eyes could barely make out solid looking walls. If she had to guess, she was in a freezer room. But freezers usually had food and ice in them. As far as she could tell, the room was empty.

She then wondered why she was here. She blinked, trying to remember, but only remembering darkness. Nothing.

Her head throbbed steadily, her eyelids began to droop, and she slumped over on the strange, cold floor once again…

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Ion stared at the computer screen, blood red eyes unblinking and unfocused as he typed quickly. The light from the screen reflected off of his pale skin, making him look ghostly. It was at least one in the morning, but he couldn't rest until he found out for sure.

He waited impatiently at the page loaded, tapping his fingers quickly and rhythmically on the desktop. It was taking so long, too long, far too long…

After what seemed like a decade, the page showed up, the images and text popping up one by one. Because of his impatience, everything seemed to go extra slow.

His hand leapt to the mouse, trailing down the page as he scanned it, muttering to himself and narrowing his eyes. Frowning, he was about to press the back button when he was notified he received an e-mail. With a sigh, he minimized the screen and opened up his e-mail.

His frown deepened as he read the e-mail and the sender. The e-mail's title was '!' and the sender was 'Unknown.' That was odd. Very odd.

His curiosity overwhelming him, he double clicked on the e-mail.

His eyes widened with horror as he read.

To anyone else, this message was just weird.

To anyone else, this would be nothing.

To Ion, it was the worst thing to happen.

His hand shook violently on the mouse, causing the cursor to fly all over the screen. He ripped his hand off of the mouse, causing it to clatter to the floor.

He sprinted out of the computer room, making a lot of racket as he ran around.

Radu put down his reading book and looked up at his friend. "Something up?"

"Not…really…" His eyes darted side to side nervously.

"Is it Lea?"

Ion made a choking noise but did not respond.

"Radu nodded, seeming unsurprised. "I see. Get going then."

Ion nodded, throwing open the door and running out into the cool night air.

The message repeated itself over and over again.

Back at home, the computer screen flickered a bit, the e-mail in plain sight.

"_Hello there love, she's mine forevermore."_

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Esther awoke again, but this time, with perfect lucidity. She remembered everything. Even though it wounded her deeply, she knew.

Ion was a killer. He had turned an innocent girl into a creature like him. That was why he had wanted to to run, run and never look back…he didn't want the same thing to happen to her.

She stared sully at the wall for a long time, ignoring the painful cold that crept over her body, numbing her.

Who cared anymore. Her best friend had lied to her. He could have trusted her. Why didn't he? Why? It wasn't fair. Since they had become so close, it was only right that he should have told her.

Did he know that it was Lea? Of course. He knew her face, he knew her name. He knew what she was, he knew what she did. He knew everything. She was the only one left in the dark, the clueless one, the weakest one. She was trapped in a world she didn;'t understand, a world she knew she could never comprehend.

It was too late to cut herself off from it now. Too late to run away. Only death and pain awaited her, for she was quite certain Lea would kill her.

How could she have been so blind? She fell for Lea's 'sweet little human' façade. Maybe Ion was lying to her too. What if every time he smiled, he was only putting on an act? She would never trust him again. Never speak to him again.

She probably wouldn't to do either of those things, since she was going to die a slow and painful death anyways.

Such a simple lie could lead to all of this.

Such pain it caused.

Her heart must have been shattered; that was the only explanation for the intense ache in her chest.

She didn't care anymore. Not about Ion, Lea, Dietrich, School, anything.

_I've been deceived, _she thought, _and I'm paying the price for being a fool._

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Short chapter, I know it. Lol, sorry it got a little dark there, it was fun to write. XD

Please review, and I'll update!


	15. First True Emotions

Hello everyone! So sorry I've been so dead to the world lately. But, finally—an update! I hope you'll all enjoy, and forgive me for taking so long.

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Chapter Fifteen

_F_i_r_s_t_ T_r_u_e_ E_m_o_t_i_o_n_s_

Ion gritted his teeth as he made a desperate attempt to run faster. _Not fast enough, not fast enough._

He flew over the ground, silent, deadly, fast. The early morning was silent and cold, as well as it should be. The peaceful night held no meaning for Ion, not when the one he cared about most was in so much danger.

He would have to kill Lea for this. He inwardly winced, but since she had become a huge threat, he was left with only one option, the most drastic one. He knew Lea had always been a fan of anything dramatic, and he knew she was milking the moment for all it was worth.

If he hadn't met Lea, things would have been different. He had cared for her, that was true. Then he had turned on the small girl, undoubtedly making her hate him forever.

Damn. He still wasn't moving fast enough. He never was. He could only trail along behind Lea while he knew full well what she was capable of. He was so foolish,

Blood pounded in his head, making it difficult to think. Only one word resounded repetitively in his head.

_Faster. Faster. Faster._

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Esther leaned against the wall, her breath coming out in a white mist. Her entire body was numb, inside out. Even the deep ache in her heart has numbed. She was broken, but the bitter cold of understanding had numbed her.

She vaguely heard a door open and close, a few silent footsteps shattering the peace.

A soft young voice filled with thinly concealed malice reached her cold ears. "How are you holding up, dearest? Well, I hope?"

Lea appeared before Esther, her brown hair pulled up into a ponytail, her emerald eyes glittering like a cat's. Her skin was a pale cream color, and she was wearing just a black hoodie and jeans.

"Cold, are we?"

Esther barely managed to speak through her numbed blue lips, and her voice sounded terribly hoarse.

"N-n-n-not a-at all."

Lea's smug grin widened. "So I see."

"Well Esther dear, since I'm fairly sure Ion's personality hasn't changed since I've known him, he's on his way here right now. Any last words you want to say to him?"

Esther made a weak attempt to glare. But then she thought over what Lea had said…last words…

"Well, you can tell him yourself, but since I'm feeling rather generous at the moment, I'll get you out of the cold."

Esther barely felt Lea's tiny fingers wrap themselves around her upper arm, pulling her up firmly. Lea was very strong. Of course, she wasn't human. Like Ion had told—

She shook her head violently. Thinking of him made her stomach turn over and her heart flutter anxiously.

She and Ion would both die tonight, that was irreversible. But no matter how upset she was with him, there was something she knew she should have told him long ago, something she herself realized long ago, too.

She loved him.

It didn't hurt as much admitting it now. Perhaps, she thought, vaguely paying attention as Lea seated her in an armchair by a fireplace, she should have realized it long ago.

It wasn't likely he loved her back, after all, she was an annoying, pathetic human who had simply forced herself upon him, even though he had practically pleaded with her to remain friends.

Who knew. Just like a puzzle missing a piece, her life without Ion seemed somehow incomplete, it made no sense and she couldn't see the whole picture.

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He stood before it. The address that was under Lea's school records. This was the place.

It wasn't anything remarkable. Just a small house, which she lived in alone.

Narrowing his eyes, he knew he couldn't go in yet. He needed to sort out his thoughts first.

Clenching his hands into fists, he carefully let his eyes slide shut.

What was Esther to him?

Much, much more than a friend. So much more. He had never felt this for anyone, not even Lea, his first love.

He knew, he had fallen for her the moment she accepted him. She was kind, sometimes irritating, and very self-conscious. She didn't speak unless she felt the need to, and cared a lot for her friends.

He loved her. Whether she loved him or not, his feelings wouldn't and couldn't ever change. She was everything to him.

His eyes shot open, and his hands unclenched. Lea would pay dearly for this. He would never let her get away.

It was time to stop blaming himself and move on, time to shatter his past with his own hands.

His mind wandered back to Lea's e-mail.

_Hello there love, she's mine forevermore._

_Not for long my bitter past, her heart belongs to me._

…_Just as mine belongs to her._

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When the door clanged open, Lea was far from shocked. He had arrived, just in time. Things were going to get so good now. Drama. She could never get enough of it. Ruining Ion's useless existence would be the most fun and happiness she'd had in such a long, long time.

"Lea. He's here."

She didn't bother saying anything to Dietrich. She simply nodded.

"Anything you want me to do?"

"I want you to entertain Esther."

Something flashed briefly in his eyes. "Esther?"

"That's right you idiot. That girl you fell for. You weren't supposed to, you know."

Dietrich closed his eyes in understanding. Of course. He was bound to be Lea's servant for all of his life.

Why, some might wonder. Why.

It's because he was half. Half of what Lea and Ion were. He was half-vampire, half-human.

"You understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then go. Open the door for Ion. Let him see you, but don't fight. Tell both him and Esther that I've captured you here as a prisoner against your will, and I've threatened your family. Add onto that if you must. Whatever works to make them believe you. Keep the story the same for both."

Dietrich inclined his head respectfully, even though he was burning inside. "Of course."

He strode from the room, glaring at the floor as he walked. He spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Forgive me Esther, but I cannot escape my fate. Just as you are bound to yours. It would seem that you and I are nothing more than chess pieces in a game played by two immortals who would probably kill us in a heartbeat."

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I hope you liked that…sorry that I haven't updated in ages, and that Dietrich was slightly OOC…but Dietrich needed more…um…'screen time' if you will.

Well, please review reviewers, I'll update so much sooner. Again, so very, very sorry!


	16. First Perspective

Hello my dear reviewers and readers! I'm updating yet again…because I'm eager to finish this story. Eager and sad at the same time. Worry not, this isn't the last chapter. But I want to express my thanks yet again. You're all so wonderful, this is my most successful story ever, and I owe it all to you.

I dedicate this chapter to my incredible readers. Enjoy!

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Chapter Sixteen

_F_i_r_s_t_ P_e_r_s_p_e_c_t_i_v_e

Esther didn't move from the chair Lea had set her down in, she only stared at the brilliant, flickering flames before her. She was going to die soon. Very soon.

She would miss everyone in her life. Her friends; Seth, Kate, and Dietrich, the parents she never knew, her incredible teacher, the kinder classmates, and most of all, Ion. Even though it was very likely that he would die with her.

A door opened, and she could hear footsteps approaching her. It wasn't Lea. Lea's footsteps were quick, silent, and purposeful. These footsteps were louder, slower, and unsure. Someone human, like her. But who? How many others did Lea have captive here? Or was it simply another vampire, not bothering to disguise their footsteps?

"Esther." An all too familiar voice reached her ears.

"Dietrich." She murmured, closing her eyes halfway. "Why are you here?"

"I'm a captive, just as you are. I'm her servant. If I don't obey her, I'll die." Most of it was true.

"I see. That's horrible."

"I know what your fate is."

"As do I."

Both were silent for a while, until Esther spoke again.

"Ion…is he here? Is he coming?"

Dietrich remained silent. Lea hadn't specified what to do in a situation like this, so he would have to improvise.

"He is."

"Here or coming? Which one?"

"Here."

More silence followed.

"I'm going to die, Dietrich." She opened her eyes fully. "I know it. I see it in those horribly bright eyes of hers. She wants me dead with all her heart. I'm just a satisfying snack to her."

Dietrich nodded. "You're right."

"How about you? What is your fate?"

Dietrich clenched his jaw. Now that was something he wasn't at liberty to discuss. If anyone found this out, he would surely die.

But to Dietrich's surprise, he found he didn't care.

"I might be killed someday, but I'm not her snack."

"Why…not?"

"I'm her slave. Bound by blood. I'm a half-vampire."

This seemed to surprise her more than anything else. Her eyes widened and she turned to face him. "How does that work?"

"She gave me some of her blood. Basically, we exchange blood."

Esther frowned slightly. "Ex…change…"

"That's right."

Silence then ensued. The only sound was the soft crackling of the flames in the fireplace.

"If you'll excuse me Esther, I must get going now." Yes. If his slightly enhanced hearing was correct, Ion was here, and probably ready to kill.

She turned her attention back to the fire, the dim light showing how pale her skin was and the dark circles under her eyes. "Yes, of course…"

He smoothly turned around. Time to distract Ion now. Esther knew he was here, so she would be prepared. He didn't want Esther dead. She was the only one who understood him and his dark heart. She was different from other humans. Was this why Ion found her so…unique? Special? She was who she was, that was reason enough.

Now, time to move. His footsteps seemed so loud in the dark hallway. He wasn't surprised to see Ion leaning against the doorjamb.

"Well, if it isn't Ion Fortuna, the prodigy boy and Esther's best friend."

Ion, however, did seem shocked to see Dietrich there. His eyes first widened, then narrowed to bright red slits.

"Dietrich. Why are you here? Are you in on Lea's little plan?"

"No, I'm not actually."

Ion now raised an eyebrow, however he still looked quite angry. "The why are you here?" He clenched his teeth.

"I'm forced to be her servant, or else she'll kill me and my family." He knew Ion knew how the half-vampire system worked, so if he mentioned that, Ion would kill him on the spot. He knew he would die anyways, but why did it matter now? It didn't. Nothing did. He still needed to keep his cover, though.

His face relaxed very slightly. "I assume you know where Esther is."

He nodded stiffly. "That I do."

"And that you're not supposed to tell."

Lea appeared behind Dietrich, grinning a catlike grin, her wide, emerald eyes bright with wicked happiness. "Ion, dear, I'm so glad you're here. Now it looks like everyone's here, so let's start the party!" She giggled; the sound was far from pleasant.

Ion's bitter expression returned to his face. "Lea." He made her name sound like a curse word.

"But dearest Ion, my love, " she smiled innocently, "don't you remember me? Don't you miss me? Don't you…love me?"

"Definitely not." His face was as cold as his voice, and his blood-red eyes were glowing with anger.

Lea immediately dropped her act. "My, my, my, so rude, Ion. I can't believe Esther cares about a cruel little bloodsucker like you!"

"Who are you calling bloodsucker?" He growled, his temper ignited now.

Dietrich wisely stepped aside and skirted past Lea down the hall to where Esther was. She didn't stop him.

"I'll take it you've brought your resolve along today? Excellent, we can make this serious now, can't we?"

"As you wish." His voice was far from calm or polite.

"Such a gentleman." She growled slightly, grinning again, except this time, you could see her fangs.

"Always." His lips parted slightly, revealing his own fangs.

Without warning, the two vampires leapt at each other, prepared to fight…prepared to kill.

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Esther was content and comfortable in the chair…her mind was at peace, even though she had so many emotions in her heart, her mind was for once…blank and calm. It was a nice feeling. Perhaps death was like this? Maybe…

She heard Dietrich's footsteps again and murmured, "So you're back."

"…Yes."

"Has something happened?" She mumbled tiredly.

"Yes. Ion's here…and…" His voice trailed off, the last word sounding unsure.

"And…?" She felt the tiniest spark of curiosity. Another nice feeling.

"And he and Lea are fighting, as we speak." He watched Esther's eyes snap open, and she stood up unsteadily from her chair. "Wait a minute Esther." He placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place. "They're fighting as vampires, so they'll both happily drink your blood, no matter what they're thinking."

"But…I have to…do something about it."

"All we can do it wait."

She shot him a look that was so like her he almost let her go. "No. You don't understand. All Lea wants is revenge, she needs to know that isn't the answer. And Ion's only fighting because she captured me."

"I still can't let you go out there. Going through that door right now is quite literally suicide."

"None of that matters now. Let me go, Dietrich, and let me go NOW before I seriously go ballistic."

He was so startled by this violent display of emotion, that Esther was able to shove past him and through the door.

His hand was still extended in front of him, so he dropped it to his side as the door slammed.

"Well, things will certainly get interesting from here." He chuckled. "Sorry Lea, it would seem Esther has a temper to rival yours."

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The two vampires were fighting, clashing bitterly. Esther could tell from a distance, amazed that she hadn't heard any of this.

When she caught a glimpse of them, it was probably something she would remember forever.

Lea's eyes, bright, bright green, filled with hate and a lust to kill.

Ion's eyes, a fierce, bitter shade of red, so unlike the eyes she was used to. His were equally as vicious.

She could see their fangs flashing even from a distance, and the claws with which they tore at each other.

Neither seemed to have noticed her yet. If she wanted to get noticed by the two currently vicious vampires, all she would have to do was take one step. One simple step was all it would take, and her scent would be there, right in front of them. They probably should have sensed her presence by now, but they were most likely far too preoccupied with trying to kill each other.

She sucked in a deep breath, lifted one foot, and took the step that would put her directly in the path of danger.

Suddenly, the fighting slowed. Both vampires turned to her at the same exact time, eyes still glowing, both suddenly very aware of the delicious blood that was only ten feet away.

Ion strode towards her first, ivory fangs bared, eyes glowing crimson.

Esther simply clamped her eyes shut and clenched her fists. This was the end. Everything had totally fallen into perspective now, and she was going to die now that she had figured it out. Now that she had figured out that she loved Ion.

She was startled to feel a gentle, claw-less hand on her face.

"Esther? Why on earth are you out here?"

She opened her eyes in shock, amazed to see him completely back to normal. Lea was too, although she looked rather disgruntled.

"I…" She couldn't force out the rest of her words, something invisible was cutting off her speech.

Lea strode by the two, choosing to ignore them, for now at least. "Geez, humans. So…difficult, I'll say. I'm definitely going to have to deal with Dietrich now. He ruined all of my plans." Lea sighed wearily. "And don't think this is over, Ion, because it's not. I won't rest until your blood covers my hands."

Ion seemed unfazed by her harsh threat that had made Esther flinch.

"Don't worry, Lea, I'll be ready to deal with you when that day comes."

"Hn. Well I'll have to move now, of course, so I'll leave it to Dietrich to handle the school stuff. Ion, you're stronger than I give you credit for." She smirked her catlike smirk. "But don't worry dearest, I'll be stronger as well, so that one day I may successfully kill you."

With that, she swept out of the room.

"Ion…" Esther began, unsure of how to start,

"Yes?"

"Why…didn't you tell me…about Lea?"

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he thought of a way to answer.

"It wasn't fair of me to hide that from you, I know, especially since she showed up here. I would have never dreamed that she would be alive and well…it wasn't something I expected. I could have sworn I had killed her that day. You see, Lea was my first friend, back when she was human and I attended another school. She's a young vampire, so she isn't nearly as strong as I.

"Unfortunately, I became too close to her. I enjoyed her company far too much. I one day thought I could control my thirst and I…slipped up. I ran away that day, begging Radu to move so I could try to escape that place, to escape what horrible things I had done. So, I moved here, and met you…" He trailed off, looking at her purposefully.

"I truly am sorry. It was horrible, foolish and wrong to hide something like this from you."

Esther only stared at him, her mouth agape. She quickly closed it and cleared her throat, thinking of something to say.

"It's alright. I understand why you hid it from me, although I wish you would have trusted me enough to tell me." She frowned slightly at this.

"It wasn't that I didn't trust you Esther, it was the opposite. I trust you too much, I care for you, much more than I could have possibly cared for Lea. It was for that reason I hid it from you, for your safety."

She smiled wryly. "So that's why you wanted me to run from you that day."

"That's exactly why."

After a moment of silence, Ion spoke up again. "We should get going."

"Yes, definitely."

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They had been walking for about ten minutes, until Esther remembered she was in her pajamas, and had no shoes or socks on. She shivered as a cold breeze swept by.

This did not escape the ever-so-vigilant Ion's eyes.

He rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I didn't noticed you had no shoes on. No wonder this is taking so long."

She barely had the chance to scowl at him before she was swept up into his arms, held close to his chest. She could only stare up at him in shock , while he smiled softly.

"Hang on…"

Then they were flying through the night.

The early morning sky was like a canvas, the fading colors of night and the colors of a new morning blending together in a unique rainbow of it's own.

She felt her eyes begin to droop, exhaustion winning over and covering her world at last…

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Nyah! There you go! I'm so so so so so sorry for the long update. I give you all big hugs!

Chapter seventeen should be up soon…I'll try my best, I promise! This story is so close to being over, and even though it's sad, it's a happy moment too. ;3

Please review!


	17. First Sight

I didn't make you wait too long, did I?

Well…this would be the final chapter of First Sight.

Firstly, I'd like to thank my reviewers:

Kittymoon14, DeadCuteSpirit, Atlantic-Wolf, puppy444219, your-brown-eyed-angel, Cruznik06, silverwings1986, sakurahime87, AestheticBreezyDoll, Youko1776, yume girl 91, Inu-Miko-Demoness, fruit lover, Allysien, lithiumxflower, Erisabeisuu, Kikyo10 and Tenka-chan.

I'm sure that's everyone! And now, the moment you've all been waiting for…

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Chapter Seventeen

_F_i_r_s_t _S_i_g_h_t

When Esther awoke, she was comfortable. More comfortable than she should have been in a bed. She frowned to herself as she tried to figure out where she was. What a dilemma.

Slowly but surely, the memories began to resurface. Pain, sadness, heartache, love, hate, anger, and happiness. So many emotions whirled around in her tired, confused head.

Then it occurred to her that opening her eyes would certainly help her find out where she was.

She wrenched her eyes open, taking in the surroundings of an unfamiliar house.

She blinked several times, as if it was nothing more than a illusion.

But it wasn't.

Okay, so opening her eyes really didn't help her find out where she was.

While she was looking around in obvious confusion, she heard a chuckle from beside her.

Only then did she notice who she was gripping onto. How come she never noticed?

Now she was more than awake.

With a bright red face, she removed her hands fro their death grip on Ion's shirt, refusing to look at him as she stared at the floor, her face bright red.

He chuckled again. "My, my, Esther, you're certainly confused today."

She gathered the courage to look up at him, her face still a little pink.

"H-how did I wind up in your house?" Her voice turned into a squeak at the end.

He smiled at her. "You fell asleep as I was carrying you. Then you refused to let go of me, so I just let you sleep. Don't worry about me, either, I really don't need to sleep, it's just nice to." He shrugged casually.

"O-oh." Her thoughts trailed back to her dreams. It was probably because she didn't want to let him go, since both of them had literally looked Death in the face. But this time, Death was in the form of a malicious little girl unwillingly turned vampire. A mistake Ion would probably regret for all of his life.

He stroked her face lightly. Her expression must have changed. "It will be alright now, Lea is usually serious about things like that. I'm sure she'll be back eventually, just not for a while. She's young in both body and mind still, so she knows very little."

Esther smiled a little at his words and his touch. "How about you?"

"In body I may be young, but…" He grinned. "I'm sure most human men this age would kill to look like I do."

She giggled a little. "How old?"

He put a finger upon her lips with a soft smile. "It's very rude to ask someone their age."

She sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"You know, Ion…"

"Hm?"

"About that time at Lea's…" Esther frowned. "Why did she kidnap me? I mean, am I seriously that important in this game of immortals?"

Ion frowned a little. "First of all, this is no game. Vampires usually don't fight unless they feel they must."

He was silent after this. "What about my first question?"

He was silent again. She was about to speak, but he suddenly crushed her to him, embracing her more closely than he ever had.

"Because you are important to me. The most important person to me. She knew I would come if she had taken you, no matter the circumstances. Lea knows me inside and out. She has a very perceptive mind."

Esther was speechless.

Ion chuckled sadly. "Well, it is true, believe it or not. What are the words for it? Hm…"

She sighed. "You have no idea how I feel so don't jump to conclusions. You too…are important to me Ion, more than I can put into words."

He pulled back, clearly speechless.

She smiled a little.

There was an unspoken agreement between the two, an unspoken consent as their lips met, warmth filling their hearts and brining them closer than before.

When they separated, they still stayed close, Esther resting against Ion's shoulder again.

"Ion, I think I know the phrase you were looking for earlier."

"Hm? Oh, that's right. Sorry, I don't know human expressions very well." He smiled sheepishly.

I think the words you were looking for was love at first sight."

He nodded. "That sounds right." He smiled, resting his forehead against hers.

He closed his eyes, whispering to himself.

"First sight…what a perfect description."

She pressed her lips to his briefly. "I couldn't agree more."

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"Are you sure about this?"

Ion stared doubtfully at the school gates.

"Don't worry about it."

She took a deep breath.

"You'll do fine," he promised, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

She shook her head. "You'll do so much better, so please stop trying to comfort me. Ugh…finals…"

He shook his head. "Of course I'll do better. I've been alive a lot longer than you, remember?"

"Yeah, sure."

The two went their separate directions to face finals.

'_I'm so gonna fail, I'm so gonna fail, I'm so gonna fail. UGH! If Lea hadn't kidnapped me, I might have had time to study, but nooo…all of this has to happen to me, the girl who struggles with tests like these.'_

Taking a deep breath, she entered the classroom, preparing to meet her doom.

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"I am so…tired…of…tests…" Esther buried her face in her arms as they sat at their usual table.

"My head's killing me."

"Come on, they weren't that bad, Esther." Ion sighed. "I think you're probably exaggerating things."

"Yeah, easy for you to say. Some of use are really only in our teen years, unlike someone who's a freaking GENIUS and has lived for God-knows-how long! ARGH!" She dropped her head into her arms again.

Ion chuckled, then immediately stopped. She could tell this silence was serious.

She lifted her head to see the cause, and then she saw him. Dietrich. He looked rather nervous, and was holding an envelope in his hand.

Ion looked murderous as he scowled at Dietrich. If looks could kill…

Esther immediately spoke in a halfhearted attempt to ease the sudden hostility.

"Hello, Dietrich. How are you?"

He still looked nervous. "I suppose I could be better."

Ion clenched his teeth. "Just finish whatever you have to do and leave."

Dietrich sighed, running one hand through his hair.

"I know you've figured out what I am by now, Ion, and remember: it wasn't my choice. I was told to betray Esther, but I never really did. I like her too much." He smiled weakly, sadly.

"Anyways, this is from Lea. For you." He handed Ion the envelope. "It's best I take my leave now." He bowed a little and walked away.

Ion now turned his attention to the envelope. "From Lea…" He frowned a little as he tore off the top part. "I wonder…"

Esther leaned over his shoulder to read. It was a note, written in Lea's small, neat print.

_Ion, and probably Esther,_

_I am long gone by now. Obviously. I really don't trust the post with this, so I used Dietrich._

_Read carefully._

_I have been researching my past lately, and I found out much about myself. While it's true that my becoming a vampire is Ion's doing, but only partly. It was his bite that transformed me, but someone else's care that made me become what I am. Ion had taken too much blood for me to live, so of course, Ion didn't do this alone._

_  
I suspect that someone had found me, taken me and nurtured me, then somehow gave a corpse to my parents._

_  
I'm a little fuzzy on the details, and this is all I know so far, but I figured that Ion should beat himself up too much over what happened. What's done is done._

_  
Remember I still hate the both of you, but I'll still give you this warning: There's someone out there who's a lot more threatening than I am, so be on your guards._

_Best of luck to keeping yourselves alive._

_Regards,_

_Lea_

_PS: Please burn this note. You can keep the pictures, it's just something old I found. Use it for voodoo or what have you, I just figured you'd get more use out of it than I would. And Ion, don't forget, I will kill you someday._

"How very cheerful of her," Esther muttered. "But pictures?"

Ion dumped the remaining contents of the envelope on the table.

There was one picture of the two of them, sitting at lunch, eating. The second was a much older one of Lea and Ion, wearing uniforms of their old school. The third was one of the three of them, before Esther realized what Lea was.

"Do you want them?"

"Huh? Oh, yes."

"But about what she wrote…it's unsettling. Another vampire out there?"

"We shouldn't worry too much about it, just be on our guards. There isn't a reason to be so paranoid about it. She didn't tell you so you could freak out."

"I know." He sighed. "But…"

"Just know that it wasn't all your fault, and she doesn't want you dwelling on the past. She's right. What's done is done."

"For once she has something worthwhile to say."

They ate in silence until the bell rang. Esther stood up automatically, but Ion grabbed her wrist.

"Ion?"

He smiled innocently, a look that took her breath away.

"Let's skip sixth."

"H-huh? W-why?"

"We've already taken those exams, remember? Besides, I'd like to spend some more time with you."

"Um…alright then…"

"Don't worry, I'll have Radu deal with it."

Once he was sure the lunchroom was empty, he swept her up off her feet and leapt into the air.

As he ran, Esther wondered about that phrase, love at first sight. It was so cheesy, so corny, yet somewhow, it wasn't. Somehow, she felt there was a double meaning to that simple, seemingly cliché phrase.

"Ion?"

"Hm?"

"You know love at first sight?"

"What about it?"

"…"

"Esther?"

She sighed with a small smile upon her face. "Oh, nothing, never mind."

When she was sure he wasn't watching her anymore, she gazed at him. His red eyes, pale skin, platinum blonde hair…he was so much more than she could ask for. All of this pain was worth it.

And as for first sight…it was just that. She saw him, and he saw her. That was all it took. That first glance, that first look, that first meeting…

It was all because of First Sight.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

You all like?

Again, MANY thanks to my readers and reviewers who kept this going! You all ROCK!

I'd love to give you all free hugs from Ion, but unfortunately, life doesn't work out that way.

He's very stubborn. And he's Esther's.

Anyways, if you all want me to write an epilogue, PLEASE SAY SO. If you don't, then I won't.

Alright, that's all, and goodbye to you all!

Tamashii


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